Puri Gajapati Maharaja Urges Removal of Dham Tag from Digha Jagannath Temple

Bhubaneswar: In the wake of the Sri Jagannath Management Committee meeting held in Puri on Monday, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb has called for the removal of the ‘Jagannath Dham’ designation from the newly built Jagannath temple in Digha, West Bengal.

Expressing his concerns, the Gajapati Maharaja asserted that it is neither appropriate nor in keeping with tradition to confer the ‘Jagannath Dham’ title on any temple other than the one at Puri. He noted that while numerous Jagannath temples have been established across the country and abroad, none have ever been bestowed with this unique title. He also pointed out that the Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has already conveyed the matter to his West Bengal counterpart.

The Gajapati Maharaja stressed that the West Bengal government should promptly rectify the temple’s title, as the naming responsibility rests with them. “Naming the Digha temple as ‘Jagannath Dham’ goes against age-old Jagannath tradition and culture. This has deeply disturbed all of us. Names such as Nilachal Dham, Shrikshetra, Srimandir, Purusottam Kshetra, and Jagannath Dham are exclusively associated with the Puri Jagannath temple,” he said.

He added that the community was taken aback upon learning about the Digha temple's title. "When this came to our notice, we sought guidance from the ‘Mukti Mandap’ scholars. Even the Shankaracharya of Puri Govardhan Peetha, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, reiterated that Puri alone is entitled to be called ‘Jagannath Dham’,” he remarked.

The Gajapati also urged the Odisha government to take up the matter with the West Bengal administration, backed by facts and tradition. Expressing surprise, he questioned why the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a member of the Digha temple trust board, remained silent on the issue.